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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/24612235">Shadows on the Wall</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/Fade_to_Ebony/pseuds/Fade_to_Ebony'>Fade_to_Ebony</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Series:</b></td><td>Fallout Chronicles [1]</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Fallout (Video Games), Fallout 3</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Abuse, Alcohol, Angst, Blood and Injury, Blood and Violence, Canon Compliant, Canon-Typical Violence, Complete, Death Threats, Drugs, Dubious Morality, Emotional Hurt, Emotional Manipulation, Emotional/Psychological Abuse, Explicit Language, F/F, Fantastic Racism, Gun Violence, Hurt, Hurt No Comfort, Implied/Referenced Child Abuse, Implied/Referenced Drug Use, Mild Blood, Minor Violence, Non-Consensual Drug Use, Non-Sexual Slavery, POV Alternating, Physical Abuse, Pre-Canon, Slavery, Smoking, Threats, Threats of Violence, Violence, Violent Thoughts</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-06-09</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-06-09</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-04 09:20:50</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>Mature</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>Graphic Depictions Of Violence</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>3,806</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/24612235</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/Fade_to_Ebony/pseuds/Fade_to_Ebony</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>A short one-shot about Gob’s enslavement and how he ended up in the clutches of Colin Moriarty. Based on speculation and observation alone.</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Carol/Greta (Fallout)</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Series:</b></td><td>Fallout Chronicles [1]</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Series URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/series/2178576</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>4</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>Shadows on the Wall</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
      <p>Special thanks to <i>thephantomshadow</i> for this story’s concept!</p>
    </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>The year is 2262. Ahzrukhal is working the bar in the Ninth Circle as per his daily routine. Business has been lacking recently as Underworld’s residents have been preoccupied with some new happenings over at Carol’s. Currently his only company are two gossiping ghoulettes sitting at the counter, but they’d only purchased one drink that they were passing between them, so he couldn’t care less about them. “God damn floozies,” he spat under his breath.</p><p>“... he’s planning on leaving in a month or so,” one of the ghoulettes whispered to the other. They both seemed relatively young, and possibly newly-ghoulified considering the one talking still had most of her long brown hair. Her friend was worse off, only a few dry strands of blonde remaining attached to her patchy scalp.</p><p>“What? He can’t go! I was going to ask him on a date!”</p><p>The brown-haired ghoul giggled lightly and patted her friend on the shoulder. “You’ve been saying that for months.”</p><p>“I mean it this time!” she whimpered, setting the drink down on the bar top so that she could cross her arms. Her friend laughed at the pout shaping her flat lips.</p><p>Ahzrukhal hadn’t bothered paying their conversation any mind. He picked out a few wayward comments here and there as he filled in an entry on his terminal when the mention of a certain ghoul piqued his interest.</p><p>“... Gob’s really nice. I bet he’d take you with him if you started dating.”</p><p>“But I don’t want to leave Underworld...”</p><p>Ahzrukhal’s lips curled into a sly grin. So, it was Carol’s kid that was planning on vacating Underworld? If this information ended up being true, it was an opportunity he could <i>not</i> afford to miss. The seeds of a devious plan were sewn in his mind as the ghoulettes continued to talk. By the sound of it, he would be leaving alone.</p><p>He closed up the document he had been working on and opened up a new one. He knew just the man to give this information to...</p>
<p></p><div class="center">
  <p>•••</p>
</div>Charon sat in one of the far-off corners of Carol’s Place, sipping on a whiskey and puffing a cigarette. When he had first entered the establishment, Carol had eyed him warily, but welcomed him all the same. She was aware of the unfortunate ghoul’s enslavement to Ahzrukhal, and while his presence did warrant some suspicion, he seemed so utterly peaceful outside of the oppressive environment of the bar.<p>The tall ghoul was rarely offered any breaks, but he had informed her that this was one of the few instances that he was. She wanted to take the time to show him some kindness where nobody else in Underworld would, so she had Greta cooking him up a nice meal. No doubt he would appreciate some good food; the poor man was looking rather gaunt, even for a ghoul.</p><p>“Hey, Mom!” Gob called from somewhere in the back. “You seen my spare pair of shoes?”</p><p>“No, honey!” Carol returned. “Have you asked Greta?”</p><p>“No.”</p><p>“Well, she’s in the kitchen if you want to ask her!”</p><p>“Okay, thanks.” For a few seconds, the only sound that followed was the frying of meat, then Charon heard a snarl and a growl before a forlorn-looking Gob appeared from around the corner. “Can’t wait to get the hell out of here,” he grumbled. Carol frowned and sadness glistened in her eyes in the form of unspent tears.</p><p>“Gobbie, do you really have to leave? Aren’t you happy here? You know how much Greta and I love you.”</p><p>The younger ghoul rolled his eyes at the mention of Greta having anything for him but the utmost disdain. It was clear that she was deeply envious of his and Carol’s relationship. In fact, since he’d first announced his plans, he’d never seen Greta happier. He was tired of being hidden away underground as he was anyway. He wanted to see the sun again; wanted to seek hidden treasures and strike it rich. He was never going to amount to anything here.</p><p>“Yes, Ma. I do.”</p><p>Carol sighed and her entire body deflated. “You’ll at least come and visit, right?”</p><p>Gob’s expression softened and he gave the ghoul woman a soft kiss on the cheek. “Of course I will.”</p><p>So, his imminent departure was confirmed from the source himself. Charon abandoned his half-empty bottle of whiskey and made for the door. “Wait, Charon!” Carol yelled after him. “Don’t you want something to eat?”</p><p>“No,” he groused, never slowing on his way out. He was gone just as quickly as he’d come.</p>
<p></p><div class="center">
  <p>•••</p>
</div>Ahzrukhal commanded Charon to hang around Underworld’s main hall for the next several weeks. He eventually learned the date and time Gob planned to leave from the comments of a passerby. As was ordered, he informed Ahzrukhal of such, and it just so happened that he had enough time to carry through with his plan. The day was quickly approaching, so he’d need to make haste. He wrote up a letter containing the details of Gob’s leave and addressed it to one Eulogy Jones.<p>“Charon,” Ahzrukhal called, the hint of demand all-too prevalent in his voice. Ahzrukhal gestured for him to come closer as he sealed his letter shut and stuffed it inside a shipment he’d already packed. Charon could see the tops of bottles within it. Drugs, obviously.</p><p>“I need you to take this to Paradise Falls. Make certain it’s delivered directly to Eulogy. Do not open the contents of this package. Get it there within the week. If you have to skip a few night’s sleep to succeed, then do it. Collect Euology’s payment; it should amount to 1,250 caps. Confirm the amount is adequate before you leave. If it isn’t, you are permitted to use excessive force, but do not kill him or any of his associates. The punishment will be severe if you fail me.”</p><p>Charon grunted an affirmative as Ahzrukhal finished placing the shipment inside an inconspicuous knapsack. Charon threw it over his shoulder and Ahzrukhal shooed him away.</p><p>When Charon left, he was completely alone. He fantasized about Carol’s distraught face when word came around of Gob’s unfortunate turn of events. Maybe it’d be enough to drive a nail between her and Greta, sparing him from any further effort. It’d be all too easy to get her hooked on his chems, and her business would surely crumble, leaving him the only source of booze in town. She’d be putty in his hands, as would all the rest.</p>
<p></p><div class="center">
  <p>•••</p>
</div>The day had finally come. Gob had had difficulty sleeping the night before, both his excitement and nervousness keeping him awake in kind. He’d been waiting on Quinn to deliver some fresh supplies to Tulip so that he was well-stocked for his trip and he had <i>finally</i> made it home. Admittedly, Quinn had been on schedule, but Gob’s impatience made it feel as if he’d been gone for years.<p>Gob was slightly delayed from trying to console Carol, but luckily Greta had stepped up to the plate and helped stem his grieving mother’s tears. Seeing Carol so upset was almost enough to make him stay, but he couldn’t stand the stifling air of Underworld any longer.</p><p>“What’cha got for me, Tulip?” he asked as he walked to the counter. The ghoulette smiled brightly at him and pointed at a box she had placed off to the side.</p><p>“Plenty of rations, guns, and a lot of ammo. Even got some armor in if that’s your thing. Here, take a look!”</p><p>The ghoulette eagerly popped the box open. She pulled out each non-perishable food item one-by-one, then removed the extra packaging separating the food from the guns and other equipment. It was mostly pistols and leather, but there were also a few assault rifles and shotguns.</p><p>Gob picked out a well-polished .22, drawn to it by how it glinted in the light, and tossed it up on the counter along with some food items. Carol had given him more than enough water and food, roughly a week’s worth, but he wanted to make sure he was well-off without completely draining her stock. It’d be pretty anti-climactic for him to succumb to hunger or thirst so soon into his journey.</p><p>“131 caps,” Tulip chirped when she finished calculating everything. Gob openly scrutinized her.</p><p>“That seems cheap. You sure you added that up right?” Tulip laughed and shook her head in wonderment. His honesty was always refreshing.</p><p>“What, you looking to pay more? I’m giving you a discount so you’re not broke immediately out the door.” Gob gave her a sincere smile as he gathered up his new merchandise.</p><p>“That’s sweet of you,” he commented.</p><p>“Yeah, well, I’d like to see you come back and I want you to have the best chance you can. You’re one of the better ones.”</p><p>His smile only widened. He had to admit that he was going to miss her and the other faces he’d become so familiar with around here, even the ones he didn’t talk to that much. Ultimately they were all just one giant, sometimes dysfunctional family.</p><p>“Thanks again,” he said, then left after he had satisfactorily stowed away the extra food. He tipped his head to everyone he saw as he passed, offering farewells to each and every one. Little did he know of the looming threat that lurked just beyond his sight.</p><p>Ahzrukhal and Charon watched from the balcony above as Gob said his last goodbyes and exited into the Authority Building. When the small crowd dispersed and everyone got back to their typical duties, he turned just enough to glance at Charon out the corner of his eye.</p><p>“Follow him. Make sure the slavers catch him, but do not engage. Return when he is in their custody.”</p><p>Charon nodded and shouldered past him. Ahzrukhal’s face broke into a huge grin as the lumbering giant disappeared into the shadows.</p><p>Gob’s fate was sealed.</p>
<p></p><div class="center">
  <p>•••</p>
</div><p>Several hours out and already Gob had been assailed by super mutants, a few mongrels, and a radscorpion. It was a good thing he’d bought that pistol, because it had saved his life in every instance, though his lack of skill with guns was quickly becoming obvious. He’d burned through almost all of his ammo already. He needed to get to the next town fast or he was gonna be screwed.</p><p>Where was the next town, exactly? He pulled an old map out of his pack and took a moment to study it. Unarguably the closest settlement was Megaton. He’d have to travel North a ways to circumvent the river, but that was by far his safest bet.</p><p>He carefully refolded the map and slipped it into his pack, but while he was busy, he could swear he caught something just barely within his peripheral vision. He startled and looked around warily. This far outside the city, it was mostly dust and rock, but for a few odd badly-damaged buildings that had managed to stay standing all these years. When he found nothing, he shrugged to himself and continued on his way.</p><p>Within the next couple of hours, the sun had started setting. He was still too far away to make it to Megaton before nightfall, but he’d been fortunate enough to avoid any more danger. He stumbled upon an abandoned old world neighborhood with a few functional shelters, so he could hole up safely for the night and resume his voyage tomorrow after he’d gotten some shuteye.</p>
<p></p><div class="center">
  <p>•••</p>
</div>When Eulogy had sent Forty with Ymir to capture their target, Forty had been understandably pissed off. Ymir was hardly the subtle type and he charged every wild beast that crossed their path, including an especially vicious yao guai that had nearly severed his head from his neck. <i>Really, what kind of idiot takes on a fucking yao guai with a super sledge?</i> Forty sighed under his breath. He just wanted this little escapade of theirs to be over so he could go the fuck home before this blundering asshole got them both killed.<p>Eulogy had instructed the pair to trail the ghoul away from Underworld as per Ahzrukhal’s request. He’d almost been offed a few times by the native wildlife, but had managed to fumble around enough to keep his life. When dusk fell, he wandered inside an abandoned house that they were now staking out. It’d been half an hour and he hadn’t left, so Forty could safely assume he wasn’t planning on continuing until morning.</p><p>He told Ymir as much and now they were slinking towards the ruined house. Ymir, careless as ever, proceeded to make as much unnecessary sound as possible when they were finally inside. His heavy footfalls crunched glass and wood beneath his boots and he complained loudly as he noisily dug through the rubble for anything of interest. Maybe he could find a dirty mag or something.</p><p>“Keep quiet, you fucking moron!” Forty hissed. Ymir growled and rounded on him, throwing a clumsy punch at him that Forty easily avoided. Forty grabbed his arm and pointed his gun at him.</p><p>“You wanna be number forty one? Now ain’t the time for your bullshit. We fuck up a job this easy and Euology’s gonna castrate us both. So <i>save it</i>.”</p><p>Forty punctuated his last words sharply and threw the other man’s arm out of his grasp. Ymir was smiling. He was itching for a fight and toying with Forty. It’d been a while since he’d been sent to claim anyone and he was feeling antsy. He was just trying to rile the other man up enough to get him to scuffle, but he wasn’t having it. Pity.</p><p>The house was two stories, the second floor fairly well intact. The ghoul man wasn’t anywhere on the first, so that meant he had to be upstairs. Forty motioned for Ymir to stay down below, seeing as the man was about as stealthy as a herd of rampaging Brahmin, and crept slowly up the stairs, pausing whenever he heard the slightest creak. The ghoul wasn’t making any noise, so it was possible he was still awake.</p><p>Then, the sound of snoring hit Forty’s ears. Perfect. He could bag the ghoul without much resistance and be on his way in the next five minutes.</p><p>Forty crawled towards the slumbering ghoul, taking care to move extra slowly when he passed over squeaky floorboards. Something crashed and broke downstairs and he cursed to himself. The ghoul never awoke, a testament to his obliviousness.</p><p>When he was close enough, Forty pulled his supply sack off his back and rummaged around inside of it until he had an empty syringe and a vial of anesthetic in hand. He filled the syringe slowly, nearly dropping it when he heard Ymir punching through some rotten wood, causing him to jump. He was gonna tear him a new asshole when they got back to Paradise Falls.</p><p>The syringe was filled, so now came the hard part: finding a vein. It was difficult to see with only the dim light of the moon, but he felt around the ghoul’s neck, barely touching his torn skin until his fingertips brushed over an artery.</p><p>It was risky to do this, but with Ymir fucking around downstairs, it was only a matter of time before the ghoul woke up. He pressed the needle to his skin and forced it in quickly, covering the wound and applying pressure with his fingers to slow the bleeding. The ghoul man gasped and flung himself forward into a sitting position, smacking his stinging flesh where the drug had been inserted. Before he knew what was happening, Forty was on top of him and holding him down with his bodyweight.</p><p>“Ymir!” he shouted. The other slaver came bounding up the stairs, throwing himself across the ghoul’s thrashing legs. He howled in terror as the two men kept him in place; they were much stronger than him and held him without much trouble. The drug was quickly taking effect and soon the ghoul man stopped moving entirely, so still one might believe him to be dead upon first sight.</p><p>“You’re lucky this God damn fool is such a heavy sleeper, Ymir,” Forty scolded as both men rose to their feet. “Since you’re so eager, you get to carry the son of a bitch. Pick him up and let’s go.”</p><p>Ymir just shrugged, throwing the ghoul man over one armored shoulder and handling the added weight as if it were nothing. As they were leaving, Forty scoped the area to make sure they were safe before signaling <i>all clear</i> to his partner. He set the pace as a casual sprint as the two slavers expertly slipped away.</p><p>And Charon, having seen everything, left his hiding place to report back to Ahzrukhal.</p>
<p></p><div class="center">
  <p>•••</p>
</div>When blessed consciousness was bestowed upon him once more, Gob found that he’d been stripped of his belongings as well as his clothing, save for his boxers. He groaned and rolled his head, then froze when he felt a cold, metallic prickle against his neck. He carefully felt the device, then panicked and tried to rip the thing off when he realized what it was.<p>“I wouldn’t do that if I were you,” a deep, mocking voice laughed. His eyes flickered open to find a man clad in spiky metal armor and black leather staring at him from the other side of a fence. When he looked around, it dawned on him that he was trapped in a gated enclosure.</p><p>“Let me out of here!” Gob snarled. The man bared his teeth at him in the shape of a cruel smile.</p><p>“Couldn’t do that even if I wanted to. But don’t worry, Shuffler; you’ve already been bought.”</p><p>Gob was so surprised that the racist remark didn’t even register. “Did you say I’ve been bought?”</p><p>“Yep! Don’t know what anyone would want your rotting ass for, but apparently there’s some demand for ghouls.” The man nodded his head to the right towards an older looking man with messy, greying hair. He was currently conversing with a dark-skinned man in an expensive-looking red suit. The dark-skinned man looked over the other’s shoulder, prompting him to turn. He smiled morosely when he locked eyes with Gob.</p><p>The grey-haired man passed something to the dark-skinned one, then dismissed himself from the latter’s presence to walk towards Gob’s enclosure. Gob stiffened defensively and pushed himself back towards the outer fence as he approached.</p><p>“Hello, laddie,” the man greeted almost cheerfully, a thick accent underlining his voice. His relaxed demeanor confused Gob. “I’m yer new owner.”</p><p>“I am owned by no one!” Gob spat. The man chuckled mirthlessly and his blue eyes flashed maliciously in the light of the sun.</p><p>“I think ye’ll find that quite to the contrary,” he said, entirely unaffected by Gob’s defiance. “Y’see, I bought and paid for yer freedom. Ye’d have been here who knows how long had I not showed up.”</p><p>Gob remained guarded and silent. The man continued. “So, I’d say ya owe me now. Ye’re gonna come work fer me ta pay off yer debt, and once you do, I’ll let ya go.”</p><p>Gob hesitated. Well, the deal didn’t seem <i>that</i> bad. It certainly couldn’t be worse than remaining in the hands of these slavers.</p><p>“Fine,” he grumbled. He had no say in the matter either way, but perhaps he’d get out of here with little damage if he complied. One of the slavers opened his pin and grabbed him by the arm while another held a gun to his head. Gob shook violently in his fear. “Try to run and I’ll blow your head off your shoulders myself, no collar needed,” he growled. Gob felt his blood run cold.</p><p>The two slavers followed the older man to the edge of Paradise Falls, the one never removing his gun from Gob’s temple. Gob walked on unsteady legs, afraid of the potential of the man shooting him on accident if he made any sudden moves... or on purpose just for the fun of it.</p><p>As they passed by the other slave pens, Gob noted that many of them were occupied by young children, some no older than  five. He squeezed his eyes shut and willed himself not to retaliate. His actions would do nothing but get him, and potentially the children, shot.</p><p>They made their way to a defeated-looking younger man carving patterns into a table boredly with a knife on their way out, which Gob’s new “employer” addressed happily. “Pleasure seein’ ya again, Grouse. How’s yer Da?”</p><p>Gob’s employer laughed so hard that he had to bend over and hold on to his knees. The young boy scoffed and his scowl deepened.</p><p>“Wish I could say the same,” the boy retorted, ignoring the comment about his father. When the older man stopped laughing, he turned to face Gob and the two slavers following him. “Ya can put yer gun down, lad. He isn’t gonna run.”</p><p>Gob looked at the man with his chin in the air and expression firm. He grabbed Gob’s face and pulled him forward, smacking him so hard across the cheek that he fell to the ground.</p><p>“None’uh that now. I freed ya; the least ya could do is show a little gratitude.”</p><p>“You bought me!” Gob snapped. The man kicked his legs out from under him when he tried to stand up and pressed his boot into his neck to keep him down. He ground his foot against him so hard that he cut off his air, causing Gob to choke before he let up.</p><p>“Keep speakin’ and we’re gonna have a serious problem. Now, get up,” the man commanded. “We got a ways ta go if we’re gonna make it ta Megaton by tomorrow.” He clicked his tongue as if in thought and held out his hand. One of the slavers placed  a small remote in his upturned palm.</p><p>“Ya see this, here?” the man started, waving the remote around in the air. “This is all I need ta keep ya in line. Ye’d better behave on the trip, or I'll pop yer head like an over-ripe mutfruit.” He flicked his eyes to Gob’s collar, then to his face. Gob fully understood now: the collar was rigged to explode. There was nothing he could do but follow the man to Megaton and hope he kept true to his promise of freeing him when his debt was paid.</p>
<p></p><div class="center">
  <p>•••</p>
</div>Sitting alone in the center of the Ninth Circle, the only visible light was the end of a lit cigarette. When Charon opened the door, he told Ahzrukhal that Gob had been successfully apprehended. Ahzrukhal waved him away so that he could revel in his victory silently. He smiled at the darkness as he snuffed out his cigarette.<p>And the darkness smiled back.</p>
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